LORENZO Monaco
(b. ca. 1370, Siena (?), d. ca. 1425, Firenze)

The Annunciation

1410-15
Tempera on panel
Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence

Gabriel is shown flying in this Annunciation scene. The flying angel is common in Florentine art because Gabriel is shown flying in the most important representation of this theme in the city, a modest Trecento fresco at SS. Annunziata; because the head of the flying figure of Gabriel in this work was believed to have been painted by an angel, this type of representation became the standard in Florence.